For years we’ve wondered why extension cords and power strips have to be SO ugly; we’ve secretly been waiting for an alternative that we won’t want have to hide under rugs or behind pictures propped on the floor. So we were thrilled to discover Multi Line, an almost perfect solution. It’s essentially an extension cord…
Read Moretubby’s lemonade improvisation
We found this wonderful Tubby comic (a character in the great Little LuLu comics of the ’30’s and ’40’s) during our weekly visit to Accidental Mysteries on Design Observer. When life hands you lemons, make…………!!!!!!!!!!! Go Tubby!
Read Moreethan greenbaum’s concrete block love (and inspiration)
Artist Ethan Greenbaum‘s work gave us lots of idea for home works made of concrete block. He has figured out ways to make them seem both light and somehow charming, by using plasticine and colored acrylics instead of cement as grout. Plasticine is a kind of clay that won’t harden so maybe it actually IS a good…
Read Morewe all have to DO now…
In a recent Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, Will.I.Am of the Black Eyes Peas said THESE startling words in answer to a question from Deborah Solomon…
Read Morehappy valentine’s day!
(The Bittersweet Chocolate Brownie Cake recipe link in the previous post is FIXED. Sorry for the inconvenience.) photo @ Abbey Christine via Flickr Related posts: non-romantic d-i-y email valentines valentine’s gift: merit badge our best d-i-y chocolate gifts for valentine’s day are you an improvisational cook?
Read Moreare you an improvisational cook?
At the Harper Collin’s blog The Secret Ingredient, Tavia posted her experience with Sally’s just-released-in-paperback The Improvisational Cook. The gist: Tavia considered herself an improvisational cook until she realized that… “…it…doesn’t quite mean the person who leans into the fridge and whips up a stir fry with the crudités that are left from the Super Bowl…
Read Morenon-romantic d-i-y email valentines
A valentine doesn’t have to be for someone you are lovers with. We’ve discovered that the commercial “lovebird” notion pretty much shuts out the millions of unattached folks and can make them feel pretty alone. Why not send alt-valentines to people you care about, like the sweet card we just got that says “Valentine’s Day…
Read Moreholton rower’s pour paintings: intention + chance, in color
Artist Holton Rower is constantly innovating, shifting, moving his work into new territory, too fast even to get an accurate answer to the question “What’s he into these days?” We’ve marveled at his works out of locks, money, fish hooks for years…Lately, we’ve been smitten with his Pour Paintings (which may in fact be sculptures),…
Read Morehat as “crown, battle cap, halo or horns…”
This week’s TimeOut New York features “The Most Stylish New Yorkers”, a study in sartorial imagination and possibility. We were happy to see our old friend Fritz Karch, Director of Collecting at Martha Stewart Living, wonderfully dressed head to toe in plaids. And we loved Lori Goldstein, stylist and designer for Logo Instant Chic,’s wise…
Read Moresculptural faucets of pipe (and shovel)…
Lately, we’ve been seeing some wonderful rough plays on the idea of “faucet”. Our favorite is this sublime one made from a gracefully bent copper pipe spotted in a house tour at French by Design…though we are totally charmed by the “shovel faucet” devised by Evan and Oliver Haslegrave, two brothers whose seriously imaginitive d-i-y…
Read Morerobo-rainbow: cool video, via chance encounter
robo-rainbow from mudlevel on Vimeo. We missed the cross-town bus and shared a taxi with a stranger as much in a hurry as we were. He turned out to be a “Consilientist | Futurist” his mind going places we can’t imagine, like: “Consilience is, after its use by biologist E.O.Wilson in his book of the…
Read Morebelated best wishes for the lunar new year!!
We found this amazing image in The Big Picture’s wonderful photo gallery of lunar New Year’s celebrations, which began February 4, throughout China and many other countries; it is the Year of the Rabbit, according to Chinese Zodiac. It also marks the beginning of Spring festivals throughout China, like this one in a Miao ethnic group…
Read Morecolor-painted panels as decorative element
We were browsing through sylist Sara Sjögren’s website, when we came across several rooms decorated with painted panels. Easy-to-d-i-y rectangles of plywood or stretched canvas painted (or sprayed) with a single vivid color bring these rooms to life (imagine them without the panels and you see what we mean)…
Read Morevalentine’s gift: merit badges
When we were scouts long ago, there was nothing so satisfying as getting a merit badge. Now Disorderly Goods has designed a series that would make a lovely gift for child or adult. We’re thinking one or two would make an especially charming Valentine. Buy one for $10, a few, or all with the Over-achiever 12-pack…
Read More‘the improvisational cook’ is here!!!
The paperback edition of Sally’s award-winning The Improvisational Cook is OUT IN THE WORLD as of this morning. The book was the precursor to ‘the improvised life’; apply the blog’s heart and practicality to cooking and you’ll get the gist. It’s a guide ‘in’ to cooking improvisationally, more freely and with what’s on hand. Chapters include How Improvising Works,…
Read Morerandom wisdom, overheard
Anne Herbert of Peace and Love and Noticing the Details is great at overhearing perfect snippets of conversation as she wanders around her city. Here are two recent favorites: “It’s a super-duper-duper long shot, but I got nothing else to do, so why not?” … “No, if I make it, we both make it. You’ve…
Read Moreour best d-i-y chocolate gifts for valentine’s day
Valentine’s Day is one week away so we thought we’d start thinking about it now, rather than our usual last minute scramble. Chocolate is, of course, the classic valentine, so we’ve rounded up our very best chocolate desserts and gifts, all homemade, all easy to make. Here are our recommendations, with annotations: Essential Chocolate Cake…
Read Moredreaming of a rietveld crate desk
Browsing through our archive, we found this image we’d filed several years ago of a desk designed by Gerrit Rietveld, the Dutch minimalists architect and furniture designer, known for his iconic pieces made out of ordinary crates. We were surprised all over again by the range of Rietveld’s vision for furniture made of simple pine…
Read Morestep-stool as bead organizer, via 5-year-old marco
Our friend Anthony Giglio sent us this email: …being a vertically-challenged Italian-American with extra-tall kitchen cabinets, I keep a step-stool at the ready for a quick boost. This week while trying to pack lunch boxes for Sofia and Marco I couldn’t find my white, plastic step-up, and calls out to the family yielded not a…
Read Moreimprovised medicine (egypt)
A woman uses a makeshift rig to sterilize scissors as a doctor treats a wounded person in a Cairo mosque on Sunday, Jan. 30. via the amazing The Big Pictures report on Egypt.
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